Metropolitan News-Enterprise, CA
May 24 2005

Arabian to Receive Award From Local Women’s Group

By a MetNews Staff Writer

Retired California Supreme Court Justice Armand Arabian will be the
recipient of the Women of Los Angeles Highlight Award, to be
presented June 15 at The Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the jurist
disclosed yesterday.

`Officially, I got the letter (yesterday),” Arabian told the
MetNews. `Governor Schwarzenegger got one last year.”

Arabian will be joined by actor Sir Sidney Poitier and California
Institute of the Arts President Steven D. Lavine in receiving the
awards.

`I had heard of this group, but I was not familiar with them,”
Arabian said.

Arabian said he believed the group chose him based upon his
long-standing work on protecting the rights of woman, in particular
those who have been victims of rape and sexual assault.

He made news in 1973 by rejecting a defense request to give jurors
the customary instructions to examine the testimony of female
complainants with `caution.’ The California Supreme Court later
concluded that Arabian should have given the instruction, based on
the long line of authority supporting it, but agreed with the judge
that the instruction was outmoded and ordered that it not be given in
the future.

His work has also contributed to legislation making it easier to
prosecute sexual assaults.

The New York native, who served on the California Supreme Court from
1990 to 1996 as part of his 24 years as a judge, was honored in May
of last year in what he called his greatest achievement.

At the time, Arabian was honored with `The Ellis Island Medal of
Honor for Making America a Better Place for All of Us.”

Arabian, who was the first Armenian American to sit on the California
Supreme Court, is now an attorney and private judge in Van Nuys.